After Christmas shopping comes the January sales and the hunt for Championship player deals.

It will be a busy few weeks for teams up and down the division, with 14 in or within at most six points of the play-off places - and nine in or within at most six points of the relegation zone.

So can Leeds United or Norwich City do business to cement their places in the top two? Who will be splashing cash and who won't be very active? Can big guns like Aston Villa, Derby County and Nottingham Forest yet crash the promotion party with a couple of canny deals?

We've checked across the country for what to expect after January 1...

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Leeds United

Marcelo Bielsa keeps reiterating about the importance of sticking with tried and trusted players and Leeds aren't expecting many deals. However, injuries to several key players may yet force their hand if they want to keep up their momentum at the top of the table.

However, for now Bielsa seems content to work with what they have. He told LeedsLive: "Instead of buying, I prefer to improve the quality of the work because the team usually reflects the quality of the players, but it’s also linked to the training they receive and you also can improve a team when you improve the equipment."

His plans might have been affected by a season-ending injury to keeper Jamal Blackman. Rookie Will Huffer has been thrown the gloves after another injury to Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Marcelo Bielsa has guided Leeds United to the top of the Championship. (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Norwich City

Big-money signings are off the agenda, sporting director Stuart Webber spelled out at a shareholders' meeting - but they are under no pressure to sell either.

Manager Daniel Farke told the Eastern Daily Press: “I have had the experience in several years as a coach when you are on a good run and you are creating momentum and the players are in a good shape that it was a danger then to bring two or three more quality players in.

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“Then the team bonding is not so tight. I would say it is more important for clubs who are not in the position they want to be, maybe fighting relegation or struggling to score goals. Then they have to take a bit more risk to do some business in January.

“It could be dangerous for us to add more players because you risk the togetherness and good mood."

West Brom

Wes Hoolahan and Tyrone Mears are out of contract in January and Albion are seeking assurances from Leicester and Manchester City that Harvey Barnes and Tosin Adarabioyo will see out season-long loans. They could also come under pressure to keep 12-goal striker Jay Rodriguez.

New head of recruitment Ian Pearce told the Express and Star: “January is always a very difficult window to operate in, clubs are reluctant to let players go a lot of the time, so we have to be as prepared as we possibly can to take advantage of any opportunities that come our way.

“Getting the right deal done in January, it can have a really major impact on your season, so we’ll be doing what we can to ready ourselves for that.”

Darren Moore has got West Brom in the promotion picture. (Image: Getty)

Derby County

Frank Lampard has already been linked with Chelsea youth Ethan Ampadu and Everton defender Mason Holgate as he deals with injuries to Curtis Davies and Craig Forsyth.

There have also been reports linking the club with Dundee midfielder Glen Kamara, Willem II striker Fran Sol and Ashley Cole, who was released by LA Galaxy in November.

"There won't be lots we can do because we are not in the position of other teams in this league but, if we do, it needs to be absolutely spot on and improve us.

"We are not in a position where we can go and make dramatic movements in January, and I don't think we need to but we are looking at the positions and looking at players who are available

"It probably will be loans if we are going to do something, and hopefully good ones. We will see."

Sheffield United

Chris Wilder has revealed he will likely target loan moves - and has confirmed a centre-forward and attacking midfielder to compete with Mark Duffy are priorities.

He told the Sheffield Star: "We are quite excited about one or two that we have worked really hard to make happen. Maybe one we will have to wait on.

"We are in a host of clubs looking to improve. We can’t just say 'yes' whatever it costs and blow everybody else out of the water. But we are in an okay position to improve, and that’s what we will do."

Middlesbrough

Tony Pulis, under increasing pressure after a stuttering autumn, is looking for a New Year tonic in the transfer market.

Pulis told GazetteLive: "We’ve got feelers out, and we know what we want. We’re trying to get the best that we can possibly get, but if we can’t, we can’t... We are looking, and I think the players want to see one or two come in as well to give it a bit of a lift."

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And he added this week: “We have been working tirelessly with people in recruitment, to see what we can find and what is needed. The important thing is, all the players have to remain confident."

Boro have been reportedly keen to make Jordan Hugill's loan from West Ham a permanent switch, while they seem likely to recruit Huddersfield wide man Rajiv van La Parra.

Nottingham Forest

NottinghamshireLive report: "Aitor Karanka says Nottingham Forest are prepared for business in January, with the club ready to make moves to sign the targets they have identified – and the Reds boss revealed their shopping list does not currently include a striker.

"Forest are understood to want to make a handful of high quality additions during the transfer window, as they prepare to make a push for promotion in the second half of the Championship season."

Karanka said: "We know the names we want. But sometimes, on the other hand, I have players here who we would like to leave as soon possible, because that would be better for them and better for us."

Aston Villa

Villa are already lining up Gent goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic, who has a £9m price tag.

And BirminghamLive report Dean Smith also wants to bring in a left-back while he has centre-halves under consideration - and not just on loan.

Smith said: “We’ve got good loan players here at the moment but I would prefer to develop our own players rather than bringing in loans and improving them for other clubs.

“We have targets in mind and they will be presented to the powers-that-be.”

The club will apparently listen to loan offers for some of their younger players.

Dean Smith... knocking Villa into shape after taking the reins in early October (Image: PA)

Swansea City

There have been warnings of difficulty getting the right deals from Graham Potter and most gossip has been about potential outgoings. Dan James, Wilfried Bony, Mike van der Hoorn and Connor Roberts have all been linked with moves away.

But Potter does want to be active, telling WalesOnline: "My message to the fans would be that I want to try and build the team and carry on improving and that's what we're trying to do.

"We've come from a period where we've been relegated from the Premier League and you need to get things moving in the right direction and I think we've done that in securing contracts for younger players, and giving opportunities to players who want to be here and be a part of what we're doing.

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"You obviously have to understand where you are in the hierarchy. If some ridiculous offer comes in then it comes in and you have to discuss that as a club but we still have to carry on building, carry on improving the players and improving the team."

Birmingham City

Garry Monk will be working within EFL constraints after the club breached Financial Fair Play regulations and has scope to add just one player, report BirminghamLive.

Monk said: "We all know what our restrictions are, what we can and can’t do. Of course we are monitoring that situation. We have one place left we can possibly use but at this moment in time nothing is clear with that."

Stoke City

Gary Rowett wants 'one or two' Championship-ready signings - and any of up to six fringe men could be allowed to leave.

“If you look at us at the moment, the ideal signing is someone who knows the challenges of the division because you haven’t got long to get them into the group, you can’t afford another five or six weeks to settle in.

“They also have to improve your team and have to be such good characters – and it has to be the right economics to even buy them in the first place.

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“The reality is that to get all those four or five scenarios together is really tough because no one wants to sell their best players and no one wants to sell their best players cheap.

“But you’re always looking at the areas of your team that you can improve, that you can tweak and maybe bring something different to the group. I don’t think we’ll do a lot, is the honest answer, but what we’ll do is hope that it gives us different options.”

Blackburn Rovers

Tony Mowbray is keen to add to his squad and the Lancashire Telegraph reports that West Ham may test Rovers' 'not for sale' stance on star man Bradley Dack.

A new striker could be on the agenda and Sam Gallagher has been linked with a return to Ewood Park.

“The plan for this window is to try and see whether we can help the team on the pitch and improve the results from being okay to pretty good," said Mowbray.

“Maybe a little bit of extra quality in certain areas of the pitch might just help us become a better team that can help us achieve better results.”

Queens Park Rangers

Steve McClaren's side are facing a transfer embargo next month - meaning any new signings would need to arrive on a free transfer and only replace an outgoing player, report football.london.

The club was fined £17m for breaching Financial Fair Play, as well as being made to pay £3m to cover Football League costs.

Luke Freeman and Eberechi Eze have been attracting interest but chairman Amit Bhatia told the Evening Standard: "As far as January is concerned, no one comes in and no one goes out. We can't afford to let anyone go because there are a lot of restrictions.

"In the next window we are neither a buying or selling club."

Bristol City

Lee Johnson wants to address his side's goal scoring. He told BristolLive: "We're looking at that sort of creativity element of the nine-and-a-half - the one who can do a bit of both, and you're looking for someone to get across people in the box and finish chances." Unlikely to have found that man before bringing his team to Stoke on New Year's Day.

Stoke City manager Gary Rowett (right) and Bristol City manager Lee Johnson shake hands at the beginning of the match at Ashton Gate.

Preston North End

The Lancashire Post reports that Alex Neil is aiming to 'top up' his squad.

"I’ve been thinking about January since last May,” he said.

“We have been talking about certain targets which we missed out on in the last window. “We want players who can help us and strengthen us. With the injuries we have had this year, we could do with that top-up in terms of quality and helping the lads who are playing every week.”

Wigan Athletic

The Wigan Post expects Paul Cook, who has had bad luck with injuries over the autumn, to have a hectic few weeks.

He has been asked about a left-back being his priority with Antonee Robinson out until February but has been keeping his cards close to his chest.

“The best clubs are the ones who do things behind the scenes, and that’s what we’ll try and do," he said.

Hull City

Bad news for Hull fans as uncertainty reigns over a proposed takeover, with Assem and Ehab Allam failing in attempts to sell before the New Year.

HullLive say Nigel Adkins does not expect to be given any money and will be operating on a shoestring budget.

Adkins said: “We’ll see what materialises but maybe in the past we might have been able to put x amount of pounds into signing a player.

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“We tried to sign players in the summer and that didn’t materialise. I’m not envisaging us going out and spending money on transfer fees at this present moment in time. That’s not to say that won’t happen.

“I’m not going to sit here and whinge (about money). The buzzword in the summer was sustainability. The owner has said he’s trying to sell the club, whether that happens or it doesn’t happen, who knows?”

Hull boss Nigel Adkins will have to operate on a shoestring budget. (Image: PA)

Sheffield Wednesday

The club has been put up for sale by Dejphon Chansiri and fired manager Jos Luhukay. Talk is Steve Bruce is about to get the job.

A transfer embargo was lifted in August but Chansiri warned fans about January: "We have problems with FFP, so it is hard but we will try our best. With January in mind, I cannot answer what we can do right now. The important thing for me is to solve FFP...

"One day you will have a new owner but while I am your chairman I will do my very best and never do anything to damage this wonderful club."

Brentford

Thomas Frank is tasked with arresting a slide down the table since Dean Smith left for Aston Villa - picking up just four points in 10 games.

He told YourLocalGuardian: “I'd say we always look towards the next transfer window and prepare for it, and see if there are any players that are going out and any players going in. It's an ongoing process."

Rotherham

Paul Warne told the Rotherham Advertiser that he has already been in contact with the club's top targets.

And he's braced for big-money offers for key men like central defender Semi Ajayi and reported Stoke target Will Vaulks.

“We're getting our options in place in the areas where we feel we might have to strengthen whether that's because we lose a player to a ridiculous bid or because someone is dejected and wants to leave to play more first-team football," he said.

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“There are targets. For example, if one of my wingers wants to leave, there are three or four other wingers we like. There are a couple of players I touch base with now and again, players I'd like to sign if there is an opportunity in January or next summer.

“I don't want bids for any of our players, to be fair. If it was a ridiculous bid, though, we have to have some sort of back-up."

Reading

Caretaker manager Scott Marshall gave a rather vague update about intentions and plans.

"There have been a lot of changes so people are contributing from all over," he told football.london. "There is a plan forming on that side but it would be wrong to disclose anything else."

He added: "I don't know (about players leaving), we'll see how things go. We're focussed on winning games as that's the most important thing."

Millwall

Neil Harris apparently wants an experienced defender and another forward.

“We’ve seen in the last couple of years that a couple of injuries have left us really short either in the team or on the bench," he told LondonNewsOnline.

"We lack a little bit of experience at the back and an attacking threat going forward.”

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton are now operating without a transfer embargo for the first time in four windows - but are still rather cash-strapped.

Phil Parkinson told the Bolton News: “The chairman’s come out publicly and said everyone who we want to stay is going to stay so that’s key.

“We can’t afford to weaken the squad, that’s an absolute certainty, we need to do considerably better in the second half of the season than we have in the first.

“I’ve had further chats with the chairman this week, we’ll continue to look at things, consider our options but obviously nothing can be finalised until we get into the month of January but we’re looking at all situations.”

Phil Parkinson's Bolton Wanderers escaped relegation on the final day of 2017/18. (Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)